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Miniature breed Info

Description

Miniature Horses are found all over the world and come in various colors and coat patterns. The designation of miniature horse is determined by the height of the animal. There are two registries for Miniature Horses, AMHA ( American Miniature Horse Association) and the AMHR (American Miniature Horse Registry). They can not exceed 34" at the last hair of the mane in AMHA. There are two divisions in AMHR - "A" 34" and under and "B" 34"-38".

Due to their size and stature, miniatures are completely separated from the rest of the horse show world. They compete in their own horse shows which include categories: Halter, in hand hunter, jumper and obstacle; driving, liberty, and obstacle or "trail" classes. They can be shown at the World level just as any other breed. Miniature horses are friendly and interact will with people, particularly children. For this reason they are often kept as family pets.

The average life span of miniature horses is 30 years. The oldest living horse on record was a dwarf named Angel who lived with the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina, who lived to be over 50. She was just under 2 feet (60 cm) tall. While dwarfs may be cute and cuddly, they however are not an example of the breed.

Proportions

34 inches to 38 inches.

Background

In the 1600s, miniature horses were bred as pets for Europe's nobility. Paintings and articles featured the miniature horse by 1765. Lady Estella Hope and her sisters carried on the original English lines into the mid-nineteen hundreds. Not all early miniatures were pampered pets of kings and queens. Some were used to work in the English Midlands and Northern European coal mines as pit ponies.

The Falabella miniature horse was originally started in Argentina in 1868 by Patrick Newell. When Newell died, the herd and Falabella breeding methods were passed to Newell's son-in-law, Juan Falabella. Juan added European breeds including: the Welsh Pony, Shetland pony, and small thoroughbreds. With considerable inbreeding he was able to gain consistently small size within the herd.